The Elder Scrolls: Bloodlines
by JuneLuxray2
Summary: Twenty years after the events of Skyrim, the daughter of the Archmage of Winterhold and the son of the Guildmaster of the Thieves Guild find their world turned upside down. When a mysterious mage by the name of Bimal threatens to send the balance of the Aurbis into chaos, it's up to them and their friends and family to stop him and save their world. Co-written by Aquatic Smores.
1. A Story's Beginning

**Summary: twenty years after the events of Skyrim, the daughter of the Archmage of Winterhold and the son of the Guildmaster of the Thieves Guild find their world turned upside down. When a mysterious mage by the name of Bimal threatens to send the balance of the Aurbis into chaos, it's up to them and their friends and family to stop him and save their world.**

* * *

Tanya placed a bag of septims into the khajiit woman's hand, gratefully smiling at her. "Thank you again, Zara. I know it's such short notice, but Onmund and I had nowhere else to go. Our poor housecarl Jordis is sick." The woman's hair was a dark brown, was pulled back into a bun, tan skin covered in gray mage robes- the robes of an Arch Mage.

Zara was young, in her early twenties. Her fur was a very dark gray, practically black, though detailed with white swirls over her face and arms. A highly unusual fur pattern, and most who saw her assumed she was a khajiit who merely spent a very long time on dying her fur in such intricate patterns. Her tail was tipped white, and it casually waved back and forth slowly. Her left eye was blue, and her right one green, both feline eyes looking to the noble woman, and she happily smiled back, ears perked up.

"It's no trouble at all, Lady Strong-Steel. Your wee ones will be safe with me. Where are you and your hubby off to tonight?"

"The College of Winterhold," Tanya answered tiredly, "there's a...bit of a situation going on there, and my husband and I need to deal with it. Let's just say someone decided it would be an excellent idea to smash a number of soul gems on the campus."

"Eek, I hope all will be well." Zara bowed her head. "That's the problem with soul gems, I say. Rather messy business, and souls are such stubborn things, aye? Especially when they get in your strawberry tarts." She shuddered. "I should hope no one's food gets possessed."

Tanya was completely unfazed by her words. "Agreed. Now, my husband and I are master mages. Together, we can use our magic to teleport to Winterhold. Gods willing, we should be back by midnight. Will you be alright until then?"

"Right as rain, milady," Zara said with a nod, "I'll fix them and your housecarl dinner and have them off to bed by nine. 'S there anything I need to know? Allergies, disgusts, anything utterly despised by the kids that should be annihilated before even being served?"

Tanya shrugged. "Mirabelle hates cheddar and Keldan claims to be allergic to broccoli. That's it, otherwise."

"Alright, no cheddar or broccoli. Might as well send them to Oblivion. You know, my dad loves cheddar, I should get some for him..."

Up on the top of the stairs in Proudspire Manor, two children listened in on the conversation. The girl was a Nord, pale-skinned with rosy cheeks and brown hair pulled into pigtails, scraped knees covered in bandages, silver eyes alight with curiosity.

The other child, who was a friend of the Nord girl, was an Argonian boy. While his brownish red face showed hardly any emotion, his dark lime green eyes was filled with nervousness and his tail gave an occasional twitch.

"Do you think she'll really send us to Oblivion, Mira?" He asked, silently wondering if he should have asked his mom if they could postpone the sleepover for a later date. Wait, that would mean leaving his friend alone with the strange new babysitter. Keldan decided he didn't like that thought and pushed it away.

Mira snorted and swung her feet back and forth over the banister. "Don't be ridiculous, Kel. Of course not." Her eyes narrowed and she brought a hand to her chin and tapped it pensively. "Though, it would be interesting. Imagine the stuff you could find in Oblivion! Maybe more magic-y stuff, like what I'm doing right now." Her hands lit up with a few bright sparks, and began to bounce a small light ball between her palms carelessly. She grinned at him and held it up to him. "You wanna try bouncing it?"

Keldan looked at the strange magic ball curiously before nodding and took it from her hand. It was slightly warm to the touch and was very light, almost like he was holding onto air. He passed it between his hands a few times before he began bouncing it on the ground. His eyes lit up in enjoyment and his tail began to wag. It was a welcome distraction.

Mirabelle smiled slightly, watching as he absent-mindedly played with it. Her hands still glowed ever so slightly, and a few beads of sweat dripped on down her forehead as her growing magic was tested. She looked down the stairs at the sound of feet hitting the stairs, echoing through the house. Zara and her mother approached.

Zara and Tanya appeared at the top of the stairs, both smiling at the kids. "This is Mirabelle and Keldan," Tanya said. The children muttered out awkward hellos. Keldan had stopped playing with the ball to gawk at the babysitter, and Mirabelle released the spell with a breath of relief.

"That's my girl. Your magic's coming along fine." Tanya beamed and turned to Zara. "Mirabelle's having a bit of a growth spurt, and her magic's been flaring up now and then. Just like me at my age."

"I can handle any magic, don't you worry none. I deal with flying wads of sparkles all the time. Usually doesn't hurt, rather pretty, but scares the life out of people." Her eyes turned to Keldan. "And this is Keldan? How do you do, lad?"

"Okay," Keldan muttered as he looked to the side shyly, though his face didn't show any nervousness. He was never good when it came to talking to strangers, especially adults. The tip of his tail twitched a few times and he didn't say anything else.

Zara shrugged and turned her attention back to Tanya, who began to call for her husband. "Onmund!" she yelled, "Are you almost done? The sooner we leave, the sooner we can come home!"

"I just finished packing our supplies, Dear!" Footsteps followed as a tall Nord, hair as dark as his daughter, came out of the master bedroom, toting a large bag brimming with books, staves, with the sounds of clinking and clacking as smaller items jostled together. His eyes met Zara's and he extended a hand to her. "I take it you're Zara, the young babysitter from the Bard College?"

"Aye. Pleasure to meet you, Lord Onmund." The khajiit shook his hand eagerly, firmly. Onmund was taken aback by her grip, but he smiled nonetheless.

"The pleasure is mine. We really appreciate your help on such short notice." He pulled his hand away and put his bag down for a moment to pick up his little girl, swinging her through the air as she squealed with delight. He kissed her cheek. "You're going to behave, I trust?"

Mirabelle giggled. "Yes, Daddy!"

"Thatta girl." He put his daughter down gently, running a hand over her hair. He turned to Keldan and ran a hand over his head as well, smiling at him.

"It's good to see you, Kel. I've left a storybook for Zara to read to you two on the table in the living room. It's _The Cake and The Diamond_. Is that alright?"

"Thank you, Mister Onmund! It's one of my favorites," Keldan said excitedly, "I still wonder happened to the old woman Abelle and the diamond." He always liked it when one of the adults he knew read him a story before bed. Even though he could read most of it on his own, it still made him feel at home when they read the story out loud.

"A mystery for the eras," Onmund laughed, "one day, you could solve that mystery of the old woman and the diamond."

Mirabelle cocked her head to the side. "What if she _is_ the diamond?"

Keldan had not considered that possibility. What if the diamond was cursed and the spirit of the old woman was inside it? What if she was turned into the diamond by an evil mage? So many questions that would never be answered.

"I...well, anything's possible in literature." Onmund chuckled. "You two be good. Now, if you don't mind, Zara, I'm going to have a few words with my wife, and then we'll be off."

"Take your time, Lord Onmund," Zara said cheerfully, "right then, kiddos, go wash your hands and come back down for dinner. I'll be starting soon."

Onmund slipped away, gesturing for his wife to come with him. Tanya raised an eyebrow and followed. Once out of earshot, he whispered to his wife. "Dear, are you sure it's wise to leave the kids with her? I mean, considering who she's the daughter of."

Tanya nodded firmly. "I'm certain. I've known her for awhile now. Zara's a few sandwiches short of a picnic, but she won't let any harm come to those kids. She's not malicious, just a bit crazy." She smirked. "Just like everyone who works at the college."

Her husband nodded. "If you trust her, Tanya. Let's say goodbye and then be off. I hope the situation isn't too dire at the college." The two returned to Zara, who was waiting patiently for the kids to come back from washing their hands. "We'll be off now, Zara. If anything goes wrong...well, if you need us-"

"I know," Zara said, "use that scroll in the master bedroom to summon you. I'll be damned if anything happens to your kids that isn't fun and nurturing. You two have fun dealing with the souls. Tell 'em I said hi!"

Tanya and Onmund held each others' hands, focusing their magic. Within a minute, there was a pop and a flash, and the mages were gone. The kids' footsteps echoed downstairs, and the two appeared, having tried to race each other down the stairs. Keldan's feet hit the ground first, and he grinned as well as an argonian could as Mirabelle caught up, panting.

"I win!" Mirabelle claimed. She looked at Keldan, who crossed his arms. "Or maybe I didn't."

"Alright, laddie and lass," Zara said, hands on her hips. The kids stood at attention. "Who wants to help make some chicken noodle soup?"

"Me!" Mirabelle yelled, raising her hand eagerly. She looked to her friend Keldan and nudged him. She looked back to Zara. "Can I start the fire for the pot? I'm real good at starting magic fires!" She nudged Keldan again eagerly, beaming. Her fingertips flickered briefly with magic, which no doubt did not escape the notice of the other two.

"Uh, maybe I should try to light the fire this time? I mean, I'm not very good at magic like you but I wanna at least try," Keldan said, a bit unsure. While that was partially the reason, he also remembered the last time Mira casted a fire spell on the stove. It didn't end well for the stove and the mansion would've burned down too if it wasn't for Mira's mom. Not to mention Keldan was still worried if they got in trouble with the new babysitter, she really would send the two kids to Oblivion.

"You can both try," Zara responded happily, "we'll be making soup and cookies tonight. One of you can light the fire under the stove, and the other can under the pot." She grinned. "Have no worry about a great big fire starting. I have enough magic to put down any flames that get too big for their breeches."

Mirabelle cheered while Keldan worriedly looked at his friend. Zara waved a hand forward. "Now, come now, kids. Let's get the ingredients going and then we can start. Last one to the kitchen is a baliwog!" They scurried to the kitchen ahead of Zara, who followed just slow enough to get inside last.

The kitchen in Proudspire was located just across from Jordis's room. It was large, with several shelves stocked with a great many ingredients of fruits, vegetables, meat, bags of flour and sugar, as well as various labeled cans. Between the ingredients were small bowls of frost salts, keeping them cold. In the middle of the kitchen was a fire pit with a kettle hanging over it. In the back against the wall was an oven made just for baking, sided by countertop and a sink.

The kids were accustomed to the kitchen, having waited in there before to help with dinner or wait for it. Zara walked in last behind the kids, and let out a melodramatic sigh. "Well, fuddle and duddle, looks like I'm a baliwog!" She shook her head and smiled while the kids giggled. Mirabelle cocked her head to the side.

"What's a baliwog?" she asked. Zara shrugged.

"They're these amphibious things with razor sharp teeth and tasteless brownish skin. They've got white eyes and fins on their backs. Some say they turn into grummites, some say they turn into scalons. Truth is, they turn into either depending on their taste. Don't know why they'd choose to do either, when they could be dragonflies. Now, dragonflies, those are pretty things." She shook her head. "Mighty slimy things. Be grateful they don't live in your neck of the woods."

Neither child was sure if she was joking or not, and were left more baffled than anything. They shared a look of confusion while Zara browsed the shelves, humming to herself. She pulled several ingredients from the shelves and placed them on the counter. Chicken stock, vegetable stock, chicken meat, egg noodles, carrots, celery, onion, salt, pepper, and miscellaneous seasonings. She continued humming while she pulled a knife from a cupboard and sliced the ingredients.

The children watched in fascination. She turned to them, pointing to a stick of butter on one of the shelves. "One of you be a dear and fetch that for me?"

Keldan scurried forth and grabbed it, quickly handing it to the khajiit. She smiled. "Much obliged, little one. Now, Mira," the Nord girl jumped to attention, "go ahead and get that fire going under the pot. Keldan, I'll have you start the fire for the cookies later."

Mirabelle ignored the worried look in Keldan's eyes as she approached the pot. Rubbing her hands together eagerly, she focused her magic. Straining ever-so-slightly, her fingers flickered, and a roaring fire erupted and surrounded the pot. She screamed and jumped back, falling on her rear.

"Ah! Not again!" Keldan yelped and backed away from the dangerous inferno surrounding the pot. The young argonian quivered in fear as he saw Zara quickly cast a spell that caused the flames to recede and go to a safe level. Keldan briefly wondered if she was going to scold Mira or not and grew worried.

Mirabelle grinned sheepishly and blushed. "Um...well, I did start the fire."

Zara let out a hearty laugh. "That you did, little pumpkin. Have no worries, I expected that to happen. Your mum told me your magic is prone to flares. Rather nice job, really," she said casually as Mira looked greatly relieved, "but you put too much _oomph_ in your magic when you need more _umph_ instead. _Oomph_ and _umph_ are _very_ important in magic."

"How do you know magic?" The girl asked, "I thought you were a bard."

"Bards can know magic," the khajiit said calmly as she melted butter at the bottom of the pot, "my pa taught me some. Mostly illusion magic, but enough of the other stuff to put your flames down. Magic comes from within, lass, and it's a waste to not hone it."

"I thought it came from Aetherius." Mirabelle pointed out. Zara handed each child a cup of stock and bid them to pour it into the pot, and the two began to help her by pouring in ingredients while she stirred. Zara shrugged.

"Within and without, lass. Within and without." She allowed the kids to take turns stirring, until finally she took the spoon and sampled it. The bard smacked her lips and nodded. "Now all we need is grummite slime."

She grinned at the kids' mutual cries of disgust. "No? Suit yourselves, then. The soup is ready. Can you two go set the table while I take some to Jordis?" The two obeyed and scurried off to the dining room while Zara found a bowl and filled it with the soup. Setting it on a plate with some crackers and a glass of water, she carried it to the room of the housecarl.

The housecarl's room was simple, as revealed by the candles flickering to light with magic. A few shelves full of books and knick-knacks were against the wall. A striking red carpet was laid beside the bed of the warrior. She was sleeping noisily, through a stuffed nose. A bag full of used rags was beside the bed, as well as a bag full of clean ones.

Zara called her name several times, but the housecarl did not wake. Jordis was sleeping like a log. The babysitter sighed; this simply wouldn't do. She set the soup on a nearby table and began to hum a song beside the bed. Jordis began to stir and awoke with the song. Blinking dazedly, she coughed. "Was I asleep?"

"Aye, out like a brain in a duke's head. I'm the babysitter. Brought you some soup from dinner." She gave it to the housecarl, who gratefully smiled at her.

"Divines bless you. I trust all has been well with the kids?"

"Fine. They're little sweet rolls, both of them." Zara reassured. "Now, eat up. Leave your plate on the floor by the bed and I'll get it later."

"Bless you." Jordis repeated, eagerly taking the food.

Meanwhile, the kids set the table, hurrying to eat as soon as possible. Mirabelle grinned at her friend when she set the last plate. "She's not so bad, is she, Keldan? Didn't even send me to Oblivion for causing a fire."

"Yeah, she actually seems kind of nice." Keldan said as he glanced over the table to see that everything was in place. Once he was satisfied everything looked to be in order, he turned to his friend with an argonian grin. "Maybe she really won't send us to Oblivion after all."

"A little crazy, but nice." Mirabelle took a seat at the table next to Keldan, who hopped up on a chair. "Mama says sometimes crazy is what leads to brilliance."

Zara appeared in the doorway, carrying the pot to the table. "Aye, and truer words have never been spoken, lass."

Mirabelle blushed. "Did you hear me say the first part?"

"What? That I'm a little crazy?"

"...Yes."

Zara let out a loud, hearty laugh. "Oh, my girl," she cheerfully said as she poured soup into her bowl, "I'm not just a little crazy. I'm a maniac. Without it, all thought would be linear and fleeting. My music wouldn't be music, and that's hardly sporting. Feh!Sanity. Who needs it? Well, Pelagius, maybe, but he's an exception."  
Finally the khajiit settled and began to eat the soup, and silence fell as all stomachs filled. After the soup was mostly gone (though enough was left for a second helping for Jordis), Zara stood up.

"Right, kids. You help clean up, and we'll make cookies."

The two stood up and quickly began to tidy the table while Zara brought the last of the soup to Jordis. When all was clean, they made for the kitchen. Chocolate chip cookie dough was made, and raw samples tasted by the kids with delight.

The time came to ignite the fire under the oven. Zara turned to Keldan, flicking her tail back. "Keldan, your turn."

Keldan looked nervously at where the fire needed to be lit. He carefully lifted one hand and faced his palm towards the opening. He looked away and closed his eyes. He concentrated, focusing on the roaring fire in his mind. He gathered up the energy in his palm and released it. With that release, a tiny wave of fire lit the underbelly of the oven. Keldan squeaked when he heard the fire and moved his hand away. He opened one eye just to be sure it was lit safely and then he opened the other, and he sighed relief. He had succeeded in making fire.

Mirabelle cheered and clapped for Keldan, hugging him tight. The argonian grunted but grinned at her embrace. "You did it! Yay!"

Zara cracked a smile at the kids as she put the cookie dough in. Over the next forty-five minutes, all the dough was spent, and several plates of cookies littered the countertop. The kids had their fill and brought extras to Jordis, who was already fast asleep again. They giggled and left the plate by the bed.

The kids were allowed another hour and a half to play before being summoned to bed. Zara supervised them brushing their teeth, making sure Keldan got all of his clean; an Argonian mouth held more teeth than a human one. They settled into their beds as Zara popped _The Cake and the Diamond_ open. Both kids listened quietly, delighted as the bard did voices and sound effects.

"...Abelle and all the bags she was carrying— _POP!_ vanished from sight almost instantly. Nothing happened to Oediad. 'Why did it work for the witch and not for _ME?!_ Raaaargh, _n'wah!_ '" Zara emulated a stereotypical Dunmer voice for the sentences and changed her voice for different ones. She continued. "'Because the diamond was only on the left-hand side of the blade,' said the old alchemist through me." Her voice had changed to a mimicked elderly woman for the alchemist. "I felt her control lessening as the distance grew and she hurried invisibly down a dark Ald'ruhn street away from the Rat and the Pot.

"We never found Abelle Chridette or the diamond. Whether she completed her pilgrimage to Ald Redaynia is anyone's guess. The cakes had no effect, except to give Oedidad a bad case of the droops that lasted for nearly a week." The khajiit closed the book, beaming at the kids. "The end. Well, how was that for storytime, kiddies?"

"It was great! I really liked the voices." Keldan sat up in the bed and looked at the khajiit pleadingly, "Can we have another story? Like maybe..." Keldan paused to think for a moment, "The Gold Ribbon of Merit? No wait, maybe Hallgerd's Tale?"

Zara hesitated briefly and looked at the kids. They were grinning, with wide, hopeful eyes. She nodded. "Well, alright. I'll see what I can find from the shelf. This is the last one tonight, mind you two, then I'll sing you a lullaby to sleep."

Both kids cheered while she got up and put the book back in a large bookshelf in Mirabelle's room. Her fingers trailed along the books, until she pulled out a copy of _The Gold Ribbon of Merit_. "The Rainbow Ribbon it is, kids."

"Gold."

Zara turned to Mira, who had piped up. "What's that, lass?"

"It's a gold ribbon of merit. Not a rainbow one." the Nord girl corrected. Zara scoffed.

"Why have gold when you can have a rainbow? Never did understand the appeal. Why one shiny color when you can have _six?_ " She settled back in her seat by the bed, popping open the book. Zara cleared her throat and began to read. Both were quickly entranced by her story-telling again, the voices and sound effects enthralling Keldan most of all.

"...The two shot a few more practice bolts before parting ways. Templer began the long trek east to his unit's camp, and Stryngpool wound his way down through the woods to the valley and his family's mansion. He hummed a little tune-" Zara hummed for a few seconds. "-he learned at the academy as he passed the great lawn and walked up to the front door, pleased with himself for helping his old friend. It entirely escaped his attention that the large picture window was broken.

"But he noticed right away when he came into the Great Hall, and saw Templer's wild-shot bolt sticking in his gold ribbon of merit. And then he promptly found Templer and shot him in the arse with a rainbow ribbon of vengeance."

" _Nooo!_ " Both kids cried, though they giggled and squealed. Mira shook her head.

"Miss Zara," she cried, "that's not what happened!"

Zara smirked. "No? Of course it happened. They just didn't include it in the story that he got mad about him breaking the window and not even bothering to replace it with stained glass. Classless, I say. It's a shame they didn't include that part, because it's really my favorite."

The children laughed and cried out noes again while clapping their hands. Zara beamed.

"Alright, kids. I've read the second tale. It's time for you two to go to sleep."

The laughs were replaced by groans. "I'm not even tired!" Mirabelle protested. Zara gave her a cocky wink as she got up to put the book back.

"Just listen to my lullaby, and see then." The khajiit cleared her throat.

 _"Sleep, my child, and peace attend thee,_  
 _All through the night_  
 _Divines will send thee,_  
 _All through the night_  
 _Soft the drowsy hours are creeping,_  
 _Hill and dale in slumber sleeping_  
 _I my loved ones' watch am keeping,_  
 _All through the night."_

Her voice radiated a sense of soothing and fatigue. Mirabelle began to fight her eyelids, yawning. Keldan merely listened to her in silence, unaffected. Zara paid him no heed; he would fall to slumber soon. She closed her eyes and let the music flow.

 _"Divines watching, e'er around thee,_  
 _All through the night_  
 _Midnight slumber close surround thee,_  
 _All through the night_  
 _Soft the drowsy hours are creeping,_  
 _Hill and dale in slumber sleeping_  
 _I my loved ones' watch am keeping,_  
 _All through the night."_

She opened her eyes to find Mirabelle fast asleep in bed, quietly snoring. She smiled at her handiwork, but froze when she realized Keldan was still wide awake, giving her and his friend a befuddled look. Zara blinked rapidly, ears up straight. She cleared her throat.

"Aren't you sleepy, little one? Even a little?"

"Um, no?" Keldan said uncertainly as he looked at his sleeping friend again. Normally, his feisty friend wouldn't have fallen asleep so soon after going to bed, but there she was, fast asleep. The argonian child looked back at his babysitter, completely confused and unsure what to say. "It was, uh, a nice lullaby."

Zara stared at him for a few seconds, trying not to look alarmed. "Well, er, _sacksplat!_ " she exclaimed, just as confused as the boy. "Why won't you go to sleep? Your friend's out like a log already, and dreamland's a mighty boring place without your friends. She's probably waiting for you. With strawberry tarts. Dreamy strawberry tarts." Her tail twitched and stood on end.

The khajiit was keenly aware of the suspicious look the child was giving her before he nodded reluctantly.

"Um, okay. Good night, Miss Zara." Keldan said as he pulled the covers over his head and turned over so he was facing the wall. The fact that his strange babysitter was acting stranger than normal bothered Keldan a bit. Though, maybe it was his imagination. He thought that she was going to send both kids to Oblivion most of the night, and it turned out she wasn't. Maybe Mira was just very tired and the lullaby just pushed her over the edge. The argonian decided to not over think it and eventually went to sleep.

Zara quietly stood up and blew out the candles. "Good night," she said to the darkness, "sleep tight, don't let the grummites bite." She exited the room and closed the door gently, thudding almost inaudibly as it closed. Somewhat dazed, she went downstairs and took the empty plate and glass from Jordis's room to clean it. She finished quickly and brought a glass of water to the housecarl's room.

Having nothing left to do, she settled on doing homework on the dining table. She just finished with it when there was a distinctive popping noise, and she looked up to see Lady and Lord Strong-Steel enter the room. They both looked exhausted, robes singed or torn in a few places, hair mussed. Zara stood up from the table.

"There you are. How did the souls cooperate?"

"They didn't," Onmund huffed, "took us much longer than anticipated. There were at least twice as many shattered soul gems than we thought. We're sorry we took so long."

"No problem, milord. Problematic as a cheese in a pie." Her ears twitched. "I must speak with you, Archmage."

Onmund gave both the women a weary look. "Honey, can you tell me about this later? I'm quite tired."

"Yes," Tanya affirmed, "go ahead and go to bed. I'll explain later."

The master wizard bowed and left the room. Zara approached the lady, wringing her hands. "It's—it's the boy!"

"Keldan?" Tanya gasped. "Oh, by the Nine, is he alright?"

"Yes! Well, no, well...maybe?" Zara paused and sighed. "You know I can use my music to sway people. Daedra or aedra. Well, I sang the kids a lullaby, a right perfect, shiny one! Mirabelle went right to sleep, but not Keldan!"

Tanya's eyes widened. "He...he didn't react? Not at all?"

"Not even a little!" Zara exclaimed, dismayed, "Only my pa and people like him, or Azura's babe, resist my song! The boy didn't yawn even once! Who's his parents? Is he-"

"-not that I know of." Tanya paused, thinking. "His mother is a Nightingale, Guild Master of the Thieves Guild."

"That's not bloody good enough! I could sway a Nightingale with five hands behind my back!" Zara whined. "Who's the father?"

Tanya shrugged. "We don't know. Miirasha—his mother—got pregnant after a night of drinking. She woke up with nothing but a flute and her undergarments on the roof of the Bee and the Barb. Remembered nothing. A month later, she summoned me. I confirmed she was pregnant."

"So his father could be-"

"-that's unlikely, but I suppose nothing's impossible." Tanya sighed. "What's your thoughts on this? Can we avoid dragging your father into this to confirm or deny this?"

Zara pursed her lips. "Archmage," she spoke eagerly, "allow Jordis a night off or two. Let you and your hubby go out on the town. I'd like to babysit these kids a few more times before I graduate from the college."

Tanya nodded. "If it's alright with his mother. I'll have to inform her about this. I'll let Jordis off the hook some Sundas nights; that's usually when Miirasha lets her son come here to play with Mirabelle. Tell me any observations you have about him."

"Aye." Zara gave a silent look up the stairs before turning to the other woman. "That I will. There's something odd about that boy, and we'll see what it is."

* * *

 **The lullaby in this is called All Through the Night, an old Welsh lullaby.**

 **JuneLuxray's footnote:**

 **This is a tale that AquaticSmores and I spent over a year messaging, headcanoning, and plotting to even get to this point. It started out with us shipping our Dovahkiin's kids, and slowly evolved into much, much more than just shipping. We've spent a long time debating, writing, and discussing every detail, and we hope you enjoy our labor of love. Together, we wrote this fic, and credits go to both of us equally. Aqua, thank you for putting the time in to write with me. You're awesome!**

 **AquaticSmores' Ramblings:**

 **Yo, thanks for checking out this story me and JuneLuxray made. It's been... I wouldn't say a wild ride since it's not even over, but it's been crazy. Like she said, it all started when we shipped our Dragonborn's kids and it just sort of escalated from there. One moment we were joking about stuff and then the next minute we had like 20 OCs to work with. Anyway, the point is this mess happened because of shipping. So, JuneLuxray pretty much wrote most of the beginning parts and I just went with it. But I get to play the villain and craft traps for our heroes! Mwahaha! Anyway, thank you Sarah for putting up with my laziness and being patient with that and stuff.**


	2. Taken

The Winking Skeever was packed. As twilight reached the sky, laborers and merchants had been turned loose from their work, settling in the tavern for a mug of mead and a song from the bard. At one table, a group of friends gossiped while in a discreet corner, a dark green scaled argonian was trading gold for items with a hooded figure. The figure he was trading with was obscured by brown Thieves Guild armor, and they spoke in low voices.

Sitting at the bar hunched over some strewn papers sat a brownish red argonian wearing red clothing muttering under his breath as he tapped his feather pen on the bar top. Next to the papers was a half eaten sweet roll and a half bottle of mead, just waiting to be finished. Unfortunately, the argonian was too busy trying to make sense of the mess on the paper he made to finish his food.

Sighing in resignation, he began putting the papers in order, and pushed them to the side. " _Maybe I should just focus on them for later..._ " he thought to himself ruefully. The more he stared at the papers, the more he wanted to scream and rip it to shreds. The frustrated argonian finally decided that doing so would not go well in a public inn, and instead focused on glaring at the thing giving him so much grief.

The door opened, and cold Skyrim air blew in briefly before the door was closed shut, keeping it out. The argonian turned around to see a tall Nord woman with freckles, dark brown hair pulled back in a messy ponytail, with several hairs out of place. She wore blue mage robes that were somewhat wrinkled; her gray eyes were tired and relieved as she smiled at the sight of the argonian. Her fingers stained with ink from a quill pulling away from the door. The argonian sat up straight, smiling at her.

"Keldan!" she greeted excitedly, pulling herself up to the bar next to him, beaming at him. "You wouldn't believe the day I've had. Well, you probably would. Very boring stuff, taking my entrance exam for the College of Winterhold." She paused and shrugged sheepishly. "You probably don't want to hear about that. How's the writing going?"

"Oh, other than the fact that all my story ideas that I've tried to put on paper look like they were thought up by a drunken beggar, it's been great," Keldan laughed nervously as he brought back the papers he pushed to the side back into view, "I'd prefer to hear how you did on those exams than to talk about my mess. I assumed you passed with flying colors?"

Mirabelle shrugged. "Well, yes, of course I did. Flying colors, indeed; I'm to be given all adept level textbooks and expert level in Destruction. The proctor said I was just like my parents, destined for...a lot of important stuff. Too much stuff." She frowned wearily. "They're expecting a lot from me. I mean, a lot. Very high expectations. Ugh, I need a drink." She signaled to Sorex Vinius, who promptly brought her a hot mug of mead. She sipped It and eyed Keldan's papers.

The papers consisted, so far as she could see, of multiple scratched out starts. Even the word 'the' once or twice had started a sentence that never got beyond the first letter before being scratched out. She raised an eyebrow. "That bad?"

"Unfortunately." Keldan sighed and glared at the offending paper in front of him. "No matter how much I try to put it to parchment, I can't seem to get a really good idea for a book. I've thought of a couple that would make a nice short story, but nothing that could work for a full fledged book."

Keldan reached into the pouch at his side and fished for the object he wanted. "Speaking of which, I wrote a short story I think you might enjoy greatly." he said confidently as he pulled some papers out and placed them in front of his friend. "A story about two lost twins lost in a forest until they stumble across a mysterious cave. What will they find in the cave, I wonder?" He said mysteriously as his tail twitched in anticipation.

The mage let out a squeal of delight and snatched them up, eyes twinkling with glee as her eyes quickly went down the first page. She put down the papers and threw her arms around Keldan, grinning. "Thank you! You're the best friend ever!" Mirabelle's delight for dragons was something Keldan exploited often when she was down or upset. No matter the quality, Mira cherished them all. She opened the next page and looked up to him. "You're the best. Why not try to get this published? It's fantastic!"

If it wasn't for the fact that Keldan was an argonian, he would have blushed sheepishly from the compliment. "I couldn't. It's a short story, definitely not big enough to make into an actual book." In truth, that was only part of the reason. Keldan made those dragon stories for her, and her alone. It simply wouldn't feel right to Keldan to make a book for all those dragon stories he wrote to his friend. The stories wouldn't feel as special as they did right now, if everyone was able to read them. Of course, he'd never be able to say that in front of Mira.

"But I'm glad you liked it. Didn't have to wander through a cave to get some inspiration this time."

Mirabelle snorted out a laugh. "Well, I thought it was fun that last time we went through a cave for inspiration for your story."

"I got attacked by a frost troll, Mirabelle."

"I _know!_ And it was great inspiration, right?" she teased, playfully shoving her arm up against him. She pulled her mug of mead to her lips and sipped. "We should check that cave again. Maybe this time there'll be something even more interesting than a troll."

"I'd rather not. For all we know, the troll's family probably repopulated the cave and wants revenge against us." Keldan joked, grabbing his mead.

Mirabelle giggled. "No sense of adventure? Pity."

Hours passed as the two friends chatted almost endlessly. Eventually, the inn grew quiet and empty as the dusk turned into night and the occupants went up to their rooms or left to go to their own homes. Keldan, not wanting to keep Mira away from home any longer after a long day, decided to offer to take her home; she accepted his offer quickly. They said farewell to Sorex and went on their way.

The night air had a chill to it, not untypical of Skyrim weather, even in late summer. Keldan shivered slightly, while Mirabelle was unaffected due to her own innate resistance to the cold as a Nord. The streets and sky were black in the night, the only light coming from the moons above and a few lanterns lit from poles on pathed paths. The mage cast a Candlelight spell, and they chattered quietly as they passed the market stalls.

A high-pitched shriek echoed through the city walls, and the two friends jumped at attention, darting their heads around for the source of the yelling. Solitude was a normally quiet city, safer than most capitals of the holds in Skyrim, save for the wedding of Vittoria Vici years ago. Any violence was usually hidden in dark alleyways and muffled victims or out in the open under a headsman's ax.

Not too far away from the marketplace was what looked like a group of hooded figures surrounding a woman with leather armor, struggling to get away from her captors' grip. Before the woman attempted to scream again, one of the figures covered the woman's mouth with a piece of cloth. It only took a few seconds for the woman to go limp, making it easier for one of them to pick her up and throw over his shoulder like a rag doll. From what the two friends could make out, it looked like a some of the other kidnappers had a few more limp captives in their possession.

"Help! Guards! _Kidnappers!_ " Mira screamed, her voice echoing throughout as she brandished her staff, glaring at the assailants. Keldan summoned a bound sword and magic flame in his hands and, unfortunately, he was unarmored. He hadn't expected a fight today; he dressed in plain clothes and left his swords back at the room at the inn. He glared, readying himself; it wouldn't stop him from fighting.

"Shit, we've been spotted!" One of the hooded kidnappers growled and pointed to two of his comrades, "You two take the lizard and I'll take the girl." The two nodded and prepared themselves for battle while the rest hurried off with the victims they've taken.

Mirabelle growled and summoned her magic, casting Ironflesh on herself as well, combined with a somewhat weakened lightning bolt to the enemy. Her offensive spells were somewhat dulled when she tried to use them the moment of casting mageflesh spells, and she prayed that it was strong enough.

The bolt was deflected with a ward cast barely in time, and the enemy ran forth, hand extended with the cloth in hand. He tried to bring it close to her face; she could smell a strong, almost alcoholic stench, no doubt a potion to induce slumber. Mirabelle dropped beneath him; he had no time to slow down and bumped into her, tripping over her. The mage let out a hiss of pain as his weight knocked her on her rear, her back thudding against the ground.

As Mirabelle was fighting off one attacker, the other two men grew close to Keldan. One of the attackers drew a sword and went charging at Keldan, causing Keldan to stop his fire spell and bring his sword in front of him to defend himself. The two swords clashed and Keldan jumped back, preparing a swing at the man's face. While it wasn't too visible, it looked like the man was wearing a faceless white mask under his hood. The swing missed as the attacker brought his sword up to defend himself, just like Keldan had.

While the two were having their bout, the second man used an invisibility potion to sneak behind the Argonian while his comrade distracted him. Taking out a wet cloth, the man snuck up behind Keldan and quickly brought the cloth to the argonians nose and pressed. Before Keldan noticed, it was too late. As the cloth pressed up against his face, he tried to call out but to no avail. The potion worked fast and Keldan was out before he could even think about it.

Pulling herself up, Mira saw her assailant had fallen flat on his face, much harder than she had. As he groaned and lifted his head, she saw blood and a broken nose. Still gripping her staff, she summoned what magic she had and pushed out another lightning strike, this time hitting the target as he was left floundering. The electricity convulsed through him, and after a several seconds of shaking violently, he went limp, heart giving out.

"One down!" she yelled. To her sudden panic, she realized she hadn't been paying attention to what Keldan was doing during the fight. Mirabelle cursed herself; Keldan was unarmed and without any armor! If the attackers knew a ward spell as well, they could deflect any of Keldan's battle magic.

She looked to her side where he had been to find that he wasn't there, and looked up to see the other men scurrying off with him. " _You!_ " she screamed, scrambling to her feet to take up chase. The assailants quickened their pace, looking back at the enraged mage chasing him. " _Bring him back or you_ will _die!_ "

"Damn it!" One of men carrying him growled and glared at the angry mage. He brought up one of his hands, making sure he didn't drop the argonian, and cast a spell. Out of a vortex, a flaming wolf appeared and charged at its master's enemy.

The other man tried to protest. "Wait, but shouldn't we-"

"I don't care, just run!" The man yelled at his ally as they used the spell's distraction to escape out the hold's doors.

The flaming familiar charged at Mira rapidly, who summoned Ice Storm. The familiar, however, had drawn too close to her by the time of her spellcasting, and it exploded on contact with her counterspell. A resulting explosion of magic knocked her back down; as she hit the ground, the wind was knocked out of her, briefly stunning her. She groaned in pain; no doubt her backside was going to be as black and blue as Coldharbour. When she regained her senses, she wasted no time charging out the gate, hoping to catch up with the kidnappers.

She ran. She ran as fast as her feet could take her, desperately looking for Keldan's kidnappers. She made it past Katla's Farm when she realized they were long gone into the night. They had escaped while she was stunned. Red in the face and stuttered, she let out a scream of rage, tears appearing at the corners of her eyes.

" _Gods fucking damn it!_ Fuck, fuck, _fuck!_ " She kicked the dirt on the road and screamed, huffing and breathing hard. She had no idea where they had taken her friend, or what they were going to do to him; the thought rankled. The sound of heavy boots coming from behind made her twist around, seeing city guards rushing to her, bearing the symbol of Solitude on their shields.

"Lady Strong-Steel!" yelled the one who approached her first, stopping several feet before her, looking around. "Where did they go? What-"

"They got away with my friend while you lazy fucks were—where were you?!" she screamed, making the guard recoil as she jabbed a finger at him. "My friend could be gone, forever, because you were mysteriously absent during the whole mess! You useless-"

"My lady, it's not our fault," another guard protested as he caught up to her, panting from his run, "they must have knocked out and kidnapped the guards stationed by the gate. By the time we arrived on the scene, we found the man you killed, and you were already running after them. They escaped faster than we could imagine."

"We're sorry, milady." the third guard apologized. His apology did nothing to soothe Mirabelle's rage, and lest she start screaming at them again, he pulled a paper from his pocket. "We found this on the corpse of the assailant. It has instructions for-"

"Give me that." Mirabelle snapped, snatching it from his hands. She opened it and read it quickly.

 _Head to Solitude and take several captives. He demands their capture, for one of them is the target we seek. Do not kill them, and take anyone who interferes. Do not harm the captives. Do not make yourselves known. Take them to Wolfskull Cave to be tested anonymously, and then return the ones who are not what we seek to the capital when done._

 _Go with the Grace of the Divines._

Mirabelle shoved the letter in her pocket and stared stonily at the guards. "Have someone inform my parents that I'm off to Wolfskull Cave. Come with reinforcements when you're done." She was about to run off to Katla's Farm to get her horse when one guard grabbed her by the arm to stop her.

"Milady, you cannot go after him alone, you'll-"

She glared at him, jerking her arm away. "I am a capable mage, guardsman, and the daughter of the Thane. I will handle this until more guards arrive. If you'll excuse me..." She pushed him away and hurried off to the stables, finding her horse, a sturdy palomino. He nickered as she led him out of the stable and tried to nudge her playfully as she approached with the saddle.

"Not now, Autumn, love," she said, putting the saddle on, "help me out tonight and you'll get all the molasses you want tomorrow, I promise."

He nickered again and allowed her to finish up. She mounted him and clicked her tongue, riding him out to the road, and kicked to make him run; no time could go to waste. Wolfskull Cave was her destination, and anyone who dared touch her friend would die. This she vowed.


End file.
